Towel dispensing device



Novl, 1937. J. E. TRE'WHITT ET AL 2,099,183

' TOWEL DISPENSING DEVICE Filed May 15, 1955' 5 sheets-sheet 1 g lll. a; w w

INVENTOR AL'TORNEY Nov. 16, 1937.,` J. E. TREWHITT ET AL TOWEL DISPENSING DEVICE Filed May 13, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR v ZW'J funx/.afm 6 :iBepY @20C dawqmo NEY Nov. 1.6, 41937. J. E. TREwHlT-r ET AL 2,099583 A TOWEL DISPENSING 'DEVICE Filed My -1s, 1955 s 4sneetsseet -3 UNITED STATES PATENT CFFlCE TOWEL DISPENSING DEVICE .l ames E.v Trewhitt and Charles A. Old, Oakland,

Calif., lassignors to Joseph N. Burroughs, Oakland, Calif.

Application May 13, 1935, Serial No. ,21,096

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to devices, such as those found in public wash rooms, for dispensing towels.

It is an important object` of the invention to provide a dispenser, of the character described, which will insure that the user is receiving, at each instant of requirement, a fresh and sanitary towel.

Other objects oi the invention are.: to provide a towel dispenser which -may be operated by means other than by hand manipulation; to provide a towel dispenser in which the towels are shielded from contamination during the intervals in which the device is not in use; to provide, in

a towel dispenser, means vfor preventing soiling of the towels by coming into contact with lubricants used in the operating mechanism; to provide, in a towel dispenser of the continuous web type, improved means for intermittently feed- 20 ing the web; to provide, in a dispensing device for continuous web towels, means for conveniently and expeditiously charging the device with a new supply of toweling; to pro-vide, in a towel l dispenser, improved means for preventing retraction of the towel during its passage through the dispenser; and to provide an efficient towel dispenser and one which may not readily be tampered with.

Referring to the drawings:

3@ Figure l is a front elevation of a towel dispenser incorporating the improvements of our invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View taken in the plane indicated by the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

35 Figure 3 is a iront elevation of the device of Figure l with the front wall thereof removed.

Figure l is an enlarged sectional view oi a portion of the device of Figure 3. The plane in which the view is taken is indicated by the line /i--fi of the latter iigure.

Figure is a View similar to Figure 4 showing nn ...u

the towel magazine .in its open or loading position.

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view of the dis- 45 penser showing the operating mechanism. The

plane of section is indicated by the line 6 6 of (Cl. S12- 38) to 6 inclusive, the mechanism of my invention is adapted to be housed within a cabinet comprising side walls 5 and 6 which are joined, along their longitudinal edges, with aback Wall 1; A

top 8 and a bottom 9 are provided joining all' of the three wall members at their respective ends, and a front Wall member Il is provided being movably secured to the side wall 6 by means of a plurality ofY hinges l2' and having mounted thereon a lock i3 the bolt oi which'is adapted to engage a socket i4 formed adjacent the edge of the side wall 5` remote from the back-wall' 1. The front wall member thus really forms a door which may be opened to permit access to the interior of the cabinet. A central portion of the door is removed to provide a dispensing aperture I6, and a shutter I1 is disposed immediately behind the aperture and is mounted for movement thereacross by means of a pair of guide rails t8 which are adapted to receive a plurality of clips i8 fastened to the vertical edges of the shutter. It will thus: be seen that the shutter may be moved vertically, in the guide rails, to a `position where .the dispensing aperture is uncovered, or lowered to the position illustrated wherein the aperture is closed.

Means are provided for mounting a contin' uous web of toWeling adjacent the dispensing aperture. As will best `be seen in Figure 2 a magazine is disposed in the upperl section of the cabinet and comprises a bottom plate 2l having a vertical baiile plate 22 secured to its forward edge just back of the door H; the edges of both the baffle plate and the bottom plate being secured to a pair of spaced side plates 23 and 24,

portions of each of which are extended downwardly beyond the bottom plate 2l to provide a pair of spaced parallel brackets 2S and 21.

Positioned substantially centrally of the brackets are a pair of rotatable rubber covered feed rollers 28 and 29, the former o f which is i'lXedly` journaled in the brackets and the latter being mounted for movement radially to and from the llined-roller. This construction is clearly illustrated in Figures 4 and 8 in which each bracket is shown as being provided with a slot 3l in which is slidably mounted a journal block 32, one of'these being provided for eachend of the movable roller. Resilient 'means such asa tension spring 33,'having one end secured to the journal block and the other end thereof secured` to the bracket, are provided for resiliently urging the rollers into peripheral engagement. A set of feed rollers 34 and 36, similar to those just described, are mounted between the side plates 23 and 24 of the magazine in a position so that they lie closely adjacent the upper edge of 'the baiile plate 22. The roller 36 of this latter group is, of course, spring pressed into engagement with the fixed roller 34 in the same manner as was .described in connection with the roller 29.

Disposed in the magazine, and resting on the bottom plate 2| thereof, is a roll 31 of toweling, the web 38 of which is led upwardly between the rollers 34 and 36, thence downwardly in a deep loop 39 terminating adjacentthe lower edgerof the door Il, thence upwardly to where is passes between the feed rollers 28 and 2,9 and thence downwardly where it falls in folds in the waste compartment 4l'in Vthe bottom of the cabinet. In order to preserve the Vloop 39 a heavy roller 42 is provided therein which is rotatably mounted on brackets 43 suitably guided in grooves 44V formed in each side wall of the cabinet.

It will be seen from the above that, when the shutter l1 is raised exposing the dispensing aperture I6, the web 38 will be within easy reach of the user. To preclude the possibility of the user grasping both webs of the loop 39, a separator plate 46 is disposed between the two webs immediately back of the dispensing aperture. The plate 46 is pivotally mounted on the brackets 26 and 21 by means of pivot pins 41 so that the plate may be swung outwardly to a position where it will not interfere with the operation of threading a new web of toweling into the machine when the latter requires recharging.

Means are provided, associated with the feed rolls 28 and 34 for preventing the web from encircling the rolls and disabling the mechanism. It will be noted that the surfaces of each of the rolls mentioned above is cut away to provide a plurality of spaced grooves 48 in which are mounted, for free 'movement therein, a'series of looped bars 49 extending downwardly from the rollers. The lower end of each bar terminates in an eye 5I in which is secured a tie bar 52 which serves to secure all of the looped bars together. As will be seen, by reference to the rollers 28 and 29 of Figure 2, the bars 49 prevent that portion of the web 38 leaving the periphery of the roller 28 to enter the waste compartment, from continuing around the roller and becoming caught between the periphery thereof and that portion of the web Yapproaching the roller. This might happen, in the absence of the guard bars 49, if there chanced to be a sticky substance onV the surface of the soiled web contacting the periphery of the roller 28. The adhesion of the web to the roller caused by this substance would cause the web to continue encircling the roller with the result that the feeding mechanism would become jammed and disabled.

Means are provided for operatively connecting together the two sets of feed rollers so that the amount of soiled web fed into the waste compartment, by the feed rollers provided for this purpose, will be replaced byan equal amount of fresh web fed from the magazine by the other set of feed rollers. Referring to Figures 3 Vand 4 of the drawings, it will be seen that the shaft'of the feed roller 34 is extended beyond the side plateV 23 is provided with a spur gear 6I which meshes with the gear 51 and an outboard bearing 62 is provided for supporting the end of the roller shaft. It will be seen therefore that both sets of rollers are positively connected by means of Ythe gears, and by the sprockets and chain, for

rotation together, the rotation of the roller 28, of course, being reversed in direction to that of the roller 34. Referring back to Figure 2 again, it will be seen that the Yamount of fresh web fed v,from the magazine by the feed rollers 34 and 3,6

will be equaled bythe amount of soiled web fed into the waste compartment by the feed rollers 28 and 29 due to their operative interconnection.

.Means are provided for simultaneously, intermittently feedinga fresh portion of the web past the dispensing aperture, feeding an equal amount of soiled web into the waste compartment, and

opening the shutter to expose the fresh web whereuponV it may be grasped and drawn through the dispensing aperture by the user. of these operations Vare performed by a single motion of the user and do not require the use of his hands. Y

The mechanism for performing these functions is shown, practically in its entirety in Figure 6, and comprises `a foot treadle 63 which extends through a slot 64 formed in the front wall of the cabinet and ispivotally mounted on a bracket 66 which is Vsecured to the base 9.Y A lever 61 is pivotally mounted on a bracket 68 secured to the side wall 6 of the cabinet approximately midway of its height and a link 69 is provided for joining the Ylever and the treadle together.V Both the lever and the treadle are each provided with a row of spaced apertures 1| by means of which thev fulcrum points of the link pivots 12 may be adjusted so as to vary the degree of relative movement between the treadle andthe lever. The outer end of the lever 61 is provided with an eye 1'3 which engages a cord 14, provided at one end with a counterweight 16, and extending upwardly and over a sheave V11 secured Vto the side wall of the cabinet adjacent the top thereof. After leaving the sheave 11 the cord passes over another sheave 18 located adjacent the pivotal axis of the door Il and thence passes across the interior surface of the door, over a third sheave 19, and downwardly to be secured'by means of a clip 8l to the shutter I1. From the description so far it will be seenthat foot pressure to depress the treadle 63 will cause the lever 61, due to its interconnection with the treadle through the link 69, to swing downwardly thereby causing movement of the cord 'i4 through the sheaves to open the shutter l1. Since it is desirable to keep the cord 14 taut at all times, the cord is not xedly secured to thelever 61' but, as was mentioned above, passes through the eye 13 thereof and a collar 82 is secured to the cord slightly below the eye so that the lever is required to swingY a short distance downwardly before it picks up connection with'the cord. The function of the weight'16 therefore is to both counterbalance the weight of the shutter andY to maintain a desired tension in the cord.

Means are provided for connecting the lever 61 and theV Vfeed roller drive mechanism. As is shown in Figures 3 and 9, the shaft 63 of the feed roller 28, at the end thereof oppositeito that to whichV the feedroller inter-connecting gearing described aboveis mounted, is provided with a ratchet 94 secured for rotation therewith. A sprocket 86 is journaled on the shaft 83 and has secured thereto a disk 31 which carries a pawl 88 aioaaisc adapted. to engage they teeth ofthe ratchet 84. Aresilient arm 89 is secured to the disk 81 vand is provided. with an end portion which passes through a slotA 9| formed in the'disk :and bears against the 4pa'vvl to resiliently urge thelatter into engagement with the ratchet teeth.

Referring again to Figure 6 it will be seen'that the sprocket 86 is positioned slightly above the lever 61 and a chain 92 is secured at one end thereof to the lever 61, passes over the sprocket 86, and extends downwardly to be connectedv through a long coiled spring 93 with a pin 94 secured to the side of the cabinet. Since the sprocket 88 is connected with the shaft 83 through the ratchet and pawl mechanism the feed rollers will only be rotated during the downward movement of the treadle; the entire mechanism returning to normal position during the upstroke of the treadle under the contraction of the spring 93, without affecting the rollers since the connection therebetween is uni-directional.

Means are provided for resiliently resisting the sudden return of the mechanism to normal position when the pressure is released from the treadle. Mounted on the side wall of the cabinet below the lever 81 is a pneumatic cylinder 98 having a movable piston therein connected with a piston rod 91 which is secured, by means of al link 98 with the lever 61. The end of the cylinder is provided with a nipple 99 having an aperture therethrough which communicates with the interior of the cylinder for admitting air thereinto, and a screw |0| is provided projecting into the aperture so that the cross sectional area` theirnormal positionsmay` be adjusted as kde-. sired, partly to avoid .subjecting the mechanism to severe shocks and partly to preventthe shutter I1 closing too rapidly and perhaps striking and injuring the users hand.

Means are provided for preventing a reversal of movement of the web through the feed rollers to preclude the` possibility of a soiled .portion of' the web being left in alinement with the dispensing aperture to be unknowingly used by a succeeding person. As shown in Figures '7 and 8 the shaft |02 of the feed roller ,34 is provided with a disk |03 having a peripheral flange |04l thereon which is provided with a notch |08. A latch dog |01 is pivoted on the disk, by means of a pin |08, and projects through the notch |06, the end of the latch dog being positioned a short distance beyond the surface of the :liange |04. The disk |103, being mounted on the feed roller 34, will rotate therewith when the roller is turned and will carry around with it the latch dog. When the dog is in the position shown in the ligure, the end thereof will lie in abutting relationship with the side member of the bracket, and due to this relationship the shaft |32 is prevented from rotating in a clockwise direction. 'I'hus the web 38 is prevented from moving in but one direction that being from the upper magazine to the waste compartment.

Means are provided for permitting the magazine to be tilted forward so as to permit the loading of a fresh roll of toweling thereinto. As will be seen in Figures 4 and 5, each of the lower right hand corners of the magazine is provided with a stud |09 which is journaled in a clip fixed to the side wall of the cabinet. As shown in through the aperture increases.

Figure. .5 Vthis permits the. magazine to be tilted forward so that the open upper end thereof is exposed thereby allowing a new roll of toweling to be readily placed therein. To limit the Vforward movement of the magazine an angle bar l2 is vsecured thereto which projects at each end beyond the side walls of the magazine, and, when the latter is in its forwardposition, abuts aga-inst a bracket H3 secured to the side wall of the cabinet, and, when'the magazine is in its upright position, rests on a pair of clips I4 secured to the side wall of the cabinet adjacent the back wall thereof.- It will be observed that the `connection between the chain 92 and the sprocket 88 will not be affected when the magazine is moved due to the spring connection of the chain with the cabinet and the fact that the sprocket will roll along the chain when its position is changed with respect to that shown in Figure 6.

vMeans are provided for shielding the web of toweling from the operating mechanism of the device so as to prevent soiling of the web by lubricants used on the mechanism. As is best shown in Figures 2 and 3, a door ||6 is provided for the waste compartment being hinged to the side wall of the cabinet and disposed to lie irnmediately back of the loop 39, and this door cooperates with a side partition l1 and abulkhead I I8 to completely isolate the waste compartment from the various levers, rods, etc., making up the operating mechanism, this'mechanism, as will be seen in Figure 3, being disposed in the space betweenthe partition ||1 and the side vwalloi the cabinet.

Inoperation,V after a roll of toweling 31 has been placed in the magazine and the Web 38 thereof threaded through the`` feed rollers, pressure of the .operators foot on`the treadle 63 will cause the latter to swing downwardly thereby causing a downward movement of the lever 61. This will cause the chain 92 to be drawn over the sprocket 88 causing rotation of the latter and, due to the operative relationship of this sprocket with the feedvrollers, will cause the latter to rotate and feed a quantity of the web past the dispensing aperture I8. Simultaneously with the operation of the feed rollers the cord 14 will be tensioned thereby raising the shutter I1 and exposing the web 38 whereupon it may be grasped by the user. through the dispensing aperture over the guide roller I9, which is provided to decrease the friction of the web with the lower edge of the dispensing aperture, and utilized. The act of drawing the loop of toweling through the aperture will, of course, shorten the loop 39 the roller 42 thereof rising as the quantity of toweling drawn When the user has finished with the towel he releases the web which immediately springs back into the aperture, under the pressure ofthe descending` roller 42, whereupon release of the pressure from theY treadle vwill allow the shutter to close and the operating mechanism to return to its normal position whereupon it is ready to repeat the cyclev of operations when the treadle is again depressed.

Having thus described our invention it will be seen that we have provided a towel dispenser which is capable of shielding the toweling from vcontamination during intervals when the mechanism is not in use, one which insures that there is always a clean towel ready for the user, one which permits movement of the web of. toweling in but one direction, and one in which the mech- It may be then drawn i anism for feeding the web is considerably lmproved.

We claim:

1. In a dispensing device for continuous web toweling comprising a cabinet having a dispensing aperture therein, a closure for said aperture, a magazine adapted to hold a roll of said toweling, and a waste compartment in said cabinet, means for feeding pre-determined portions of said toweling from said magazine into said waste compartment past said aperture comprising pairs of feed rollers for engaging said toweling in said magazine and said waste compartment, means for connecting said rollers for rotation together, a lever pivotally mounted in said cabinet and having a treadle portion thereof extending eXterior of the cabinet, an intermediate lever mounted for pivotal movement in said cabinet in spaced relationship with said treadle lever, a link pivotally connecting said levers, means for adjusting the pivot point of said link on each of said levers to vary the radius of movement of said pivots, an eye at the end of said intermediate lever, a cord having a counterwei'ght at one end j thereof, passing freely through said eye and having the other end thereof secured to said dispensing aperture closure, a stop on said cord for limiting the movement of the lever with respect to the cord, a Ysprocket secured for uni-directional rotation with one of said feed rollers, a chain having one end thereof secured to said intermediate lever and passing over said sprocket, and resilient means connecting the free end of said chain with said cabinet.

2. vIn a dispensing Vdevice for continuous web toweling comprising a cabinet having a dispensing aperture therein, a closure for said aperture slidably mounted in said cabinet, a magazine adapted to hold a roll of said toweling pivotally mounted in said cabinet and movable from a position therewithin to a position exterior thereof, said cabinet having a waste compartment therein for receiving said toweling as it is used, means for feeding pre-determinedV portions of said toweling from said magazine into said waste compartment past said dispensing aperture comprising pairs of feed rollers forV engaging said toweling in said magazine and said waste compartment, said toweling dependingV aperture closure will be moved to uncover said dispensing aperture, said connecting means being adjustable to vary the ratio of movement between said feed rollers and said lever whereby the quantity of toweling fed past said dispensing aperture may be varied, means for yieldingly resisting movement of said lever in both directions of movement thereof, and a plate of material secured to said cabinet vand overlying said dispensing aperture between the webs of the Vtowelingof said loop for preventing both webs of said loop to be drawniby the user through the dispensing aperture.

3. In a dispensing device for continuous web toweling comprising a cabinet having a dispensing aperture therein, a closure for said aperture, a magazine adapted to hold a roll of said toweling, and a waste compartment -in said cabinet, means for feeding pre-determined portions of saidtoweling from said magazine into said waste compartment in looped formation past said aperture comprising pairs of. feed rollers for engaging said toweling in said magazine Vand said Vwaste compartment, means for connecting said rollers for rotation together, a lever pivotally mounted in said cabinet and having a treadle portion thereof extending exterior of the cabinet, means operatively connecting said lever with said feed rollers and said aperture closure whereby said rollers will be rotated upon movement of l said lever and said aperture closure will be moved to uncover said aperture, said means comprising a sprocket rotatably connected with one of said rollers, a chain engaging said sprocket and operatively connected with said lever, a flexible cord operable by said lever, and connected with said aperture closure, and a rigid member disposed in the loop of said toweling, said rigid member overlying and substantially covering said dispensingY aperture.

4. In a dispensing device forcontinuous web toweling comprising a cabinet having a dispensing aperture therein, a closure for said aperture, a magazine adapted to-hold a roll of said toweling, and a wasteV compartment in said cabinet, means for 'feeding pre-determined portions of said towelingY from said magazine into said waste comp-artment in looped formation past said aperture comprising pairs of feed rollers for engaging said toweling in said magazine and Vsaid waste compartment, means for connecting said rollers for rotation together, a lever pivotally mounted in said cabinet and having a treadle portion thereof extending exterior of the cabinet, a cord operatively connectedY with said lever and said aperture closure whereby said closure will be Vmoved to uncover the aperture when said lever is moved, means operatively connecting said feed rollers, for uni-directional rotation, with said lever when the latter is moved, and a rigid member overlying and substantially covering sai-d dispensing aperture, said member being spaced from the portion of said cabinet-containing the dispensing aperture to provide, between opposite ends of said member and the cabinet, slots Vthrough which but one portion of the loopof said toweling may move past said dispensing aperture.

JAMES E. CHARLES A. OLD. 

